This was one of the few positives Garrett could find in the defense's performance on Sunday

Receive the latest blue-star updates in your inbox

Jason Garrett is well aware that the Cowboys’ defense, especially on paper, played terribly in the loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

A few of the numbers: On 73 snaps, Dallas gave up 517 yards, 51 points and 34 first downs. This is not a good effort, obviously. But Garrett won’t go so far as to say there were no positives to take from an overall bad day.

“There was a relentless nature to how we played,” Garrett said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Sometimes people say, ‘What’s this guy talking about? They gave up 500 yards, they gave up 51 points, all of that.’ But when you watch the tape, we played better in that regard than we had the previous week. And that’s something you can identify as being something that’s good.”

Garrett was also pleased with the team’s ability to force Peyton Manning and co. into 3rd down situations. Only problem is, once Dallas got into these situations, they allowed the Broncos to convert nine times out of 13.

“Getting them to third down was a positive thing,” Garrett said. “Obviously, not shutting them down like you want to is something that we’ve got to get better at. But I thought we rallied to the ball. I thought we covered a little more competitively than we did before, with the back end guys. Mo Claiborne played better than he did the week before. There were some good things that you look at on the tape. Overall, it’s not good enough.”

Stay on top of the latest Dallas Cowboys news with NBCDFW.com. Follow NBC DFW on Facebook or have breaking Cowboys news sent directly to your phone with Blue Star SMS alerts. Text "bluestar" to 622339 (NBCDFW) to subscribe, text HELP for more info, and text STOP to end the subscription. Message and data rates may apply.Read more about it here.